Tavares Puts Fans On Edge Of Their Seats -- And Minds

September 25, 1986|By Alan Schmadtke of the Sentinel Staff

Talk about your basic case of schizophrenia. In just two weeks, the Tavares High School Bulldogs already have begun practicing that age-old habit bending the minds of their fans with their Friday night play.

Game 1: The Bulldogs, unable to score through the first three quarters, also shut out Pierson Taylor while trying to conjure up a way to find the end zone and victory in their season-opener in Pierson. Tavares allowed the Wildcats to move the ball to the Bulldogs' 2-yard line early the fourth quarter, but on fourth-and-goal it halts a run one inch shy of the goal line.

The Bulldogs, led by a sophomore quarterbacking his first varsity game, then drove the ball in for their only score and a 6-0 victory. Tavares Coach Mike Sosinski, before singing the praises of his defense, got his first ride on his players' shoulders.

Game 2: In the first Class AA, District 5 game for both teams, Tavares begins by shutting down Bushnell South Sumter's running attack. On his first pass, South Sumter quarterback Brian Simmons threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Charles Brown for a 7-0 lead. South Sumter finished with more than 200 yards rushing and close to 100 passing and won, 18-6. So much for Lake County's version of the Chicago Bears.

To his defense -- pun intended -- Sosinski, a follower of Bears Coach Mike Ditka and that team's defensive maneuvers, never claimed the Bulldogs could stop anything with a football in hand. Instead, he said he expected his defense to be the Bulldogs' better half and any momentum it generated to carry over to his offense. But the best laid plans, Hemmingway wrote, often go awry. No less than six of Tavares' defensive starters played against South Sumter despite battling the flu. And the Raiders did the unexpected and threw the long pass. Successfully, no less.

''They South Sumter threw that bomb and that just deflated us, all the momentum. You could see it in our kids' eyes. We had to regroup from there,'' said Sosinski, who also had the flu last week. ''I guess the defense kind of did disappoint me. We never really established the fact that we were in control.''

Not all is well this week as the Bulldogs prepare for Eatonville Wymore Tech, a team whose balance of running and passing worries Sosinski. Although the flu has subsided, two defensive starters -- tackle Bobby Russell (thigh bruise) and guard David Miller (pinched nerve in shoulder) -- likely will not play Friday, a fact that only adds to Sosinski's newly acquired seriousness.

Then there is last year's game, won by Wymore Tech, 12-7, primarily because of its passing attack.

Sosinski scouted Wymore Tech in its 38-8 victory Saturday over Melbourne Florida Air Academy and came away with a feeling of respect.

''They have two receivers who can catch the ball, and a quarterback who can put the ball where he wants it.''

Which is something the Bulldogs could do without.

''The fact is, we're still a very young team,'' Sosinski said. ''We have a lot of sophomores and juniors, and most of them are still in the learning stages.''

Ah, phone calls and phone messages. Yes, Mount Dora High School boosters, you called and you were heard. Seems the night of professional wrestling is Friday, not Saturday. Because the Hurricanes are one of two area schools not playing Friday -- South Sumter is the other one -- there should be a fairly good crowd to see the likes of Kareem Muhammed and Cowboy Ron Bass, the Cuban Assassin and Ninja. Tickets for the 8:30 event at Mount Dora High are available only at the door, $5 for general admission seats and $7 for ringside seats.